SCHOFIELD’S TWO GOALS LEAD AMERKS TO 6-2 WIN OVER PHANTOMS

(Glens Falls, NY)… Rick Schofield scored a pair of goals to help the Rochester Americans return their winning ways with a 6-2 win over the Adirondack Phantoms Saturday night the Glens Falls Civic Center. Rochester has now won four of its last five games and have picked up points in five straight as the Amerks improve to 5-2-1-0 on the season.

Kevin Porter and Evan Rankin rounded out the scoring for the Amerks as they each found the back of net for the second time in as many nights while David Leggio earned his fifth win of the campaign with a 28-save effort.

The Amerks took a 1-0 lead as Schofield jammed the puck past sprawled Adirondack goalie Scott Munroe for his first of two goals. A mad scramble in front of the net was created by Alex Biega and Frederick Roy, who were credited with assists, and Schofield was there to deposit the puck past the screened Phantoms goaltender. Roy’s assist marked the first point of his professional career.

The Phantoms pulled even within the first minute of the second period when Harry Zolnierczyk took a Sean Couturier pass and sent it past Leggio for the equalizer.

The Amerks responded quickly as Porter scored his third goal of the season. The power-play goal was set up by Luke Adam as he drove to the net and fed Porter, who buried it past Munroe for a 2-1 lead.

Halfway through the second period, Schofield tallied his second goal of the night, to give the Amerks a 3-1 lead. Nick Tarnasky made his way into the slot and slid a pass to Schofield, who beat Munroe on the glove side.

The Amerks took a 4-1 lead as they scored their second power-play goal of the night as Rankin tipped a Marcus Foligno shot from the slot to put the Amerks up by three.

Mike Testwuide cut Rochester’s lead to 4-2 with his first of the season at 5:16 of the final frame, but Nick Crawford and Tarnasky would each score in the final minutes of regulation to secure the 6-2 win for the Amerks.

Rochester returns to home ice on Friday, Nov. 2 when it hosts the Hamilton Bulldogs at 7:05 p.m. at The Blue Cross Arena to open its November schedule, which features five Friday night home games. The North Division showdown will also be the first of back-to-back tilts between the two teams and can be heard live on Sports 1280 AM WHTK. In addition, the game will be televised live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (Channel 26).